Heat sinks are components or assemblies designed to transfer energy away from a device generating heat. Oftentimes, heat sinks make use of a fluid medium such as water or air to facilitate heat exchange to the surrounding environment. Some examples of heat sinks used as a means for heat transfer include refrigeration systems, air conditioning systems, radiators, etc. Other types of heat sinks are used to cool electric devices, such as circuit boards, computer chips, diodes, and other higher powered optoelectronic devices such as lasers and light emitting diodes (LEDs).
Electronic devices typically have heat sinks that pass air over a heat dissipation surface directly coupled to the heat generation source. The heat dissipation area is designed to increase heat transfer away from the heat generating core, thereby cooling the electrical device. Heat transfer occurs mainly by way of convection. In computer chips, a highly conductive material having an associated fan is typically mounted directly to the processor. The fan forces air over the conductive material to increase the rate of convection. Without the fan, convection would otherwise occur naturally because hotter air near the source would rise relative to denser, cooler air. For example, as a processor heats the surrounding air, the warmer and less-dense air rises away from the processor and is replaced by the denser, cooler air. In fact, the warmer air will continue to move away from the heat source until it reaches the ambient air temperature of the surrounding environment. The process continues as cooler air continually replaces upwardly rising warmer air.
Fans force convection by blowing air across a heated surface. This naturally results in increased cooling as cooler air forcefully enters the heated space and warmer air is forced out. Natural convection forces may still be present, but they are typically negligible. Forced convection may remove more heat than natural convection, but forced convection carries several drawbacks. For instance, forced convection requires a device, such as a fan, to move the air. In small electronic packages or where it is desirable to minimize the amount of energy expended to cool the electronic components, forced convection may be undesirable. Moreover, reliance on the fans can be detrimental to the operation of the device should the fan become nonoperational. In some circumstances replacing a nonfunctioning fan could be a maintenance problem. Thus, to save time, energy and labor costs required to operate and maintain such devices, it is generally desirable to eliminate the fan from the heat sink, if possible.
For lighting applications, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are particularly energy efficient and tend to have a long operating life. LEDs may be employed in many different basic lighting structures to replace conventional neon or fluorescent lighting. More specifically, LED lighting assemblies may be deployed as street lights, automotive headlights or taillights, traffic and/or railroad signals, advertising signs, etc. These assemblies are typically exposed to natural environmental conditions and may be exposed to high ambient operating temperatures—especially during the daytime, in warmer climates and in the summer. When coupled with the self-generated heat of the LEDs in the assembly, the resulting temperature within the assembly may affect LED performance. In fact, LED performance tends to substantially degrade at higher operating temperatures because LEDs have a negative temperature coefficient of light emission. That is, LED illumination decreases as the ambient temperature rises. For example, LED light intensity is halved at an ambient temperature of 80° Celsius (“C”) compared to 25° C. This naturally shortens the lifespan of the LED and reduces light output. These adverse operating conditions can have safety implications depending on the application. Thus, the LED temperature should be kept low to maintain high illumination efficiency.
Heat sink design considerations, therefore, have become increasingly important as LEDs are used in more powerful lighting assemblies that produce more heat energy. Heat dissipated in conventional LED assemblies has reached a critical level such that more intricate heat dissipation designs are needed to better regulate the self-generated heat within the LED assembly. The increased heat within the assemblies is mainly caused by substantially increasing the device drive current to achieve higher luminous output from the LEDs. Preferably, the internal temperature of the lamp assembly is maintained somewhat below the maximum operating temperature so the electrical components therein maintain peak performance. It is advantageous to design an assembly with a mechanism that continually cools the chamber and the LEDs located therein. Accordingly, there is a constant need for improved thermal management solutions for LED-based lighting systems.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for an improved heat sink system that improves the efficiency of dissipating heat away from a heat generating device. Such an improved heat sink system would preferably include a conductive mount that selectively attaches to a heat generation device, and a plurality of cooling fins exposed to air flow. Such an improved heat sink system may include one or more vents to improve air convection cooling and improve heat dissipation away from the heat generation device. Moreover, there is a need for a sturdy, convenient mounting system for such an improved heat sink. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.